The invention relates to an air conditioning system for motor vehicles, in particular buses. Air conditioning systems of this type are known in several constructions and are described, for example, in the German patent specification 33 24 895.
With air conditioning systems of the last mentioned construction the condenser unit lies in the direction of travel in front of the evaporator unit. The tubes of the condenser heat exchanger extend transversely to the direction of travel and the front face of the condenser heat exchanger is inclined forwards in relation to a horizontal plane. A blower associated with the condenser heat exchanger sucks the air from a fresh air inlet in the front face through the heat exchanger of the condenser, and then gives it off upwards. In the direction of travel behind the condenser unit of the known air conditioning system, without any connection of the respective air flow paths, the evaporator unit operates in such a way that the circulating air drawn from the passenger compartment via the circulating air opening is passed through the tubular register of the heat exchanger of the evaporator unit, which register extends substantially along the direction of travel, and is pressed back into the passenger compartment by the blowers.
With known air conditioning systems of the type indicated in the foregoing, among others the fact that the operation of the evaporator unit is dependent on the construction and functioning ability of the ventilation and aeration of the passenger compartment provided in the motor vehicle in question is found to be a disadvantage, as the evaporator unit, especially if arranged in the direction of travel behind the condenser unit on the roof of the motor vehicle or the roof of the bus, cannot readily be reached by the fresh air inlet ducts without increasing the overall height and cross-section of the air conditioning system.